What a year

2010 brought new jobs to both Tiff and I, a cross country move, 2 marathons, a new tattoo, a new puppy, an amazing wedding, a new house... it was a great year. Thanks for the ride. Happy New Year all!

House

As a kid, didn't we learn the only thing you needed to build a house was to have all three properties in one color and then the banker would hand you your prized little red houses? Thanks monopoly for throwing off another life lesson. I am still bitter there is no real "Free Parking" out there.

It's funny how buying a house that is not built yet gives you countless hours of mental diversion. Niether Tiff nor I profess to be very patient people, so having made the biggest purchase of our lives and having nothing but a sign and a lot of paper work can be unnerving at times. At other moments, it's as exciting as lottery ticket fantasies. All in all, it feels good but odd. We both miss Chicago considerably, but feel very good about our investment towards Colorado. I just wish they would break ground soon. It will feel good to see our plot of dirt begin to transform.

It has been a whirlwind holiday season thus far. Working in retail has so many challenging days. It's been a new perspective to have some resposibility for getting products on the shelves. What I have learned is that patience really is a virtue. I am grateful for all the folks that showed some undestanding. It's still busy with so many people coming in with gift cards and the standard statement of, "I didn' know it would be this busy." That phrse is trying the virtue of patience constantly as I know how long it took me to park. All in all, I m hanging on to the good moments and waiting till school is blessedly back in session. That will cut 80% of the crazy at my job.

Happy Tuesday Picture

Nostalgia

Over the last couple days, the memories of Chicago have been playing pretty constant. One of my goals before leaving the Second City was to figure out why people like living there so much. I did and then some. It was a fantastic town to live in for the better part of the last 10 years. Always I had this belief that Colorado would again become home some day. I am not sure if it's because there was such a brief time to realize that someday was about to happen (3 weeks to be exact) or that my affinity for Chicago was going to take longer to say good bye than I imagined, but its been tough. I know I have a natural tendency to desire the greener grass, but it's hard to remind myself of that when it has a good grip on the mind. Chicago became home and Denver has always been home for me. When I can get out of the mental tug of war and just enjoy that I have a couple great towns vying for the title of home in my head and just enjoy home much appreciate them, it helps. From Mile High City to the Windy City, I miss ya!

Candy Cane Hangover

The day after. It always has a strange introspection for me. After hearing my first Christmas song of the season in early October, it's odd that the day itself is now completed. It went well and as per usual there were the surprises, twists and turns, the loved ones not close enough, and the gift that made you sure the tag could not have had your name on it. It was grand though. What's strange is the new outlook that, with the exception of New Years, there is not another holiday insight that wields nearly the same punch. If anything we begin the 3 month stretch of talking about the weather. For a change, I will get a chance to focus on some daily maintenance. That sounds fantastic to me, I don't know about you.

Here's hoping that the big day yesterday found you well and there were moments you can still think about that make you smile. Happy Boxing Day to all and to all a good day, eh?

Happy Christmas!

This is my first Christmas as a married man. It's fun to be starting some new traditions. Hell, it's already wonderful getting to enjoy Christmas Eve with Tiff. It's unusual for either of us to not be traveling today or trying franticly to wrap presents today. It is tough to not see some of the family this year, but we have truly been blessed to see everyone just recently. This year seems to be a year of transition. It's good.

From one tired and humble Captain Stupie to each of you, Merry Christmas! May your cocoa never be empty and cookie plate never be too far!

Just for fun

Good To Know

I'm out front of one of our great farmer markets waiting to have dinner with a couple old friends. I'm excited as distance keeps me from seeing them often. It got me thinking how close friends froms days past are like living time capsuls for me. Forever when I get together with Beki and Travis, I will @ some point think of the GWAR shows or finding unique reasons to not want to travel through Idaho. It usually makes me pretty happy having those glimpses as I feel like the great people I have had these adventures with have been well worth continuing to hold onto the friendships when proximity makes it tough. With less of a social life these days beyond my new family, I still consider my friends close to me.

Tired but Worth it

It's been a hell of a day. Working retail at Christmas time is a true test in patience. None the less there are some surprisingly nice folks out there. It was a long and tough one today. All I wanted to do tonight was eat and crash. That however is not in the cards. Tonight is a full lunar eclipse on the winter solstice. This the first time in many hundred years and will not happen again, I am told till 2090. Times like this, I have always found it important to take advantage of the moment. The motto of you can catch up on sleep when you are dead has provided many a fantastic experience. Tonight it will be to see the moon completely shadowed by the earth. A good friend said that from the perspective of the moon, every sunrise and sunset will be visible at once. Kinda cool!

Home Ice

It doesnLt seem possible to still be surprised at a days events and yet today is one of those days. This morning Tiff and I went to Reunion to get an idea on the finishes we want in our home. That alone was wild. Now I'm sitting at the Pepsi Center to see the Avalanche play. Mom is here too and it's exciting as hell to see them as the HOME team. Little by little, Colorado is feeling more like home. The odd part is no step has felt familiar.

Saturday Morning

It still amazes me the power a calm Saturday morning can have. No matter the stress, buzz, or festivities of Friday night, there are Saturday mornings that seem absolute cure-all's. Of course this isn't always so, but when they come around it is so sweet. The morning light is more brilliant, the coffee is better, and the view on life that much more optimistic. It just feels good. It's like waking up as a kid in time for your favorite cartoon and having your favorite cereal on hand. the world is yours. Hope your morning is going well, where ever you are.

Cheers!

Productivity

Work has been super busy as of late and kept me buzzing about at an accustomed speed for the year thus far. It's ice when that energy spills over towards actually getting some things done for myself. As example, today so far I have walked and fed the dogs, cleaned the kitchen finished the laundry and paid some bills. This being my first day off in nearly a week, I am excited to get all this done to free up the rest of the day. It's been a long time since I have had a stretch without a lot to do. The paradox here is with this high energy, free time is a goofy notion. You just keep trying to get more things done. Inertia, man. Maybe I can get a haircut. Starting to blend with my living room.

The good life

When I can step back from the daily thoughts and challenges and see how much I have in my life, there is really no big troubles today. That perspective is pretty damn good to have when I can get it.

Staying present

It has become a big challenge to stay present as of late. With the signing of a house we can't move into till next summer, the mind is often drifting to the future. What will the house look like? What will the commute be like? How will the dogs react to a yard? All of these are fun questions to think about, especially for someone that has never had their own home. However, the future is a dangerous place for my mind to spend too much time I have found. When I spend too much time thinking about the future or the past, my present gets neglected. When that happens, I tend to lose out on a lot of great moments. While I would like to spend lots of time considering what it will be like to have a garage to work with, it keeps me from appreciating where I am right now. It's fun, for sure, but I am also so aware that where I am right now is pretty damn good too.

Early

It's still very dark outside and I am minutes from heading out the door to head to the store. Holiday time in retail is a challange for sure. What I know is it is way too early to head to the Doll House. Even the dogs aren't interested in waking up right now. Glad to have a job though. Here's hoping the vast majority remember to play nice out there today.

Perspective

Funny how much perspective can change. Where my life is today, I doubt I could have seen even a year ago. When I look back further, the view is even more askew. What makes me happy is that for several years, my life has been filled with some amazing people and I know I am not at the healm of this facinating ship. I am very grateful for the now as well as the yesterday, no matter how the perspective has shifted.

Denver Train

It feels a little more urban to be sitting here on a train platform, waiting for my ride home. This is my second crack at the Denver Light Rail. Aside from not enough tracks, it's great. As an added bonus to a ridoculously busy day, all employees of the mall were forbidden to park at the mall. Last time I tried riding the bike only to find that on top of not being able to shift (suck on hills), my rear tire needs replaced. Honestly, I want to ride again! The traon is here, time to go.

Routine

The on thing 2010 has not had a lot of is routine. While that word has made me cringe on more than one occasion, it has also proven itself to be a solid foundation for high productivity. Over the last week, I have begun to see some elements of routine beginning to form. It has felt like relief. I have had much more time available and a new found sense of energy. Much like the calm after a storm, there has been considerable lack of direction in its wake but slowly I feel some progress. I may actually achieve the final goal for 2010. Stay tuned.

Momentum

So much seems to have been happening so fast this year. It's startling to realize that this time last year, Tiff and I were living in Chicago with very few of today's realities on the horizon. I think we only knew about the wedding, but certainly not the date at that point. From the time I left for tour in February, it has been one big thing after another. All is good, but wow it has been a lot. While we are so happy with each step, with it happening so fast it is tough to not feel frequent pangs of sentiment. We both miss Chicago a lot. It became our home and is a fantastic city. That being said, there are signs of new love in our Denver home. It takes a while to get established, especially when the elements that make it feel like home aren't always the easiest to find. A good Thai place. The coffee shop that feels familiar. Even the spot you go to to get away. All of those type of things become home after some time but there is no getting around it taking some time.


With a home now under contract, we have fulfilled one of our major goals. It has also left me feeling a little lost for the last couple days. I don't have a marathon I am training for and there are no houses to seek out when I get home. I find a ton of momentum all of a sudden crashing into my back. What d I do now when I have some precious down time? I started running again yesterday and will head over to the gym today before work. The bike needs serious work (post on my pioneer ride to work in Colorado to come) and I can start figuring that one out. I still work in retail at Christmas time, so at least the job is anything but dull currently.

There's a lot of energy without a clear direction right now, but it's good. Maybe now we can find that coffee shop that feels like home.

Happy Picture Tuesday

New Perspective

It feels different walking into work the day after buying a house. When I punched the time clock today, there was an internal sigh of relief. I am very grateful to have gotten to this point with Tiffany. We continue to explore uncharted waters together. On the whole though, I will be content to consider 2010 wrapped as far as big changes go. We've had quite enough to adjust to. All great things, but ready for some good old-fashioned down time.

Home New Home

We bought a house today! Well, there will be a house back there! Yeah!

30 Seconds

What can be said in a 30 second note? Not much. Working in retail poses a challegne to staying joyful in a season filled with music advising it. I am finding it thus far not so tough. It really depends on the mind set going into work. Sure there will be the people that demand the impossible, but that's not so bad. If their demands were actually possible, then there would be an issue. On behalf of my retail team, I ask only that we all try and be a little kinder to the people rocking the name tags this year. I've got somw amazing people working for me, vastly overqualified for their jobs. Give them a smile. It helps, trust me.

Kidding me

It's an odd time to consider it, but I've been seriously considering quitting smoking again. It is as hectic a time as ever and with the prospect of looking at houses, change is still happening. I am wondering if the window of opportunity is going to come again soon or if I need to start looking more aggressively. I'm sick of the habit and yet keep turning to it. I know through experience to get a decent start at nonsmoking, it takes some persistence. So here's a public declaration of renewed attempt. I truly hope to be quit again soon and buying my time till the never ending craving subsides.

Cyber Memory Lane

It seems odd now to recall how recently so many of the conveniences we don't even think much about now were not even in the picture. I realize this will make me sound old, but fuck it, I think it's kinda cool to remember when parents had kids because they were tired of getting up to change the channel (all 4 of them) on their own. I am not jumping that far back though today. What launched this train of thought this morning was my attempts to make sure my gym membership had been cancelled. I signed up for it in 2006. Within that very short stretch of time though, I have moved from my first email account at Hotmail to Gmail. In an attempt to see if this was the email address on file, I reopened my Hotmail account to see if I had confirmation. Out of sentiment, I still have it and still take a little pride in the handle "tcjester." I made a new account as this one was besieged with SPAM and when I opened it today, I could still see why. However, as I deleted page after page, I got to look back at where I was when so many of those companies got me on their mailing lists. The one that furthered this online journey back were the emails telling me I had a new message on Myspace. Of course, they were all bands I had never heard of nor knew anyone in, but it made me smile a little that "Death Ye Pizza" extended the offer. While this isn't as mind blowing as say firing up the original Nintendo in my parents basement, it was fun. At times like this, you know Ferris Bueller's final words of advice were pretty accurate.

Thank you... seriously

As has been obvious lately, I am trying to write more frequently. A daily post was not my original intent, but seems to be a decent pace to try and maintain. In the void that marathon training opened up and the circus of having a new puppy at home, this has proven to be a great outlet. It has served as a good place to let loose frustrations over holiday shopping and thoughts on house hunting. To me this still feels more genuine that a Tweet or Facebook status update. I am also sad to see so many friend's blogs that have gotten so quiet. It's selfish, but I like hearing extended thoughts they share on their worlds, many of which are not even in my time zone. The consequence of jotting down so many thoughts lately has been an unanticipated concern from some loved ones. By trying to just get more words out there, my posts have not always been as clear. Ergo, I have fielded a couple calls of late to see if I am OK. To set the record straight, all is well with the Captain. I have some great "problems" today and am trying to remember that every time they feel otherwise. As we proceed into this exciting final month of a jam packed 2010, I will continue to try and stay active here on Stupie. Glad to have my three readers with me and love hearing all manner of feedback. I hope this holiday season brings many laughs and contentedness to each of you!